An ultrasound transducer includes one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips, an array of acoustic elements, and a redistribution interconnect coupled via conductive elements between the one or more integrated circuit chips and the array of acoustic elements. The one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips each include a plurality of bond pads separated from adjacent ones thereof by a first pitch set. The acoustic elements of the array are separated from adjacent ones thereof by a second pitch set, the second pitch set being different from the first pitch set. In addition, the redistribution interconnect couples on a first side of the redistribution interconnect to the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips via conductive elements. The redistribution interconnect couples on a second side to the array of transducer elements via conductive elements. The redistribution interconnect provides an interconnection between the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips with the first pitch set with corresponding ones of the acoustic elements of the array with the second pitch set.
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1. An ultrasound transducer comprising:
one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips, each including a plurality of bond pads;
a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements; and
a redistribution interconnect having a plurality of interconnect layers, each layer having a plurality of interconnect traces electrically coupled on a first side to the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips and on a second side to the transducer elements, the redistribution interconnect providing an interconnection between the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips with corresponding ones of the acoustic elements of the array,
wherein on the first side the plurality of interconnect traces have a first pitch set in azimuth and elevation directions and on the second side the plurality of interconnect traces have a second pitch set in azimuth and elevation directions, the first and second pitch are different.
18. A method of making an ultrasound transducer, the method comprising acts of:
providing one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips, each including a plurality of bond pads;
providing a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements; and
coupling the array of acoustic elements to the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips using a redistribution interconnect having a plurality of interconnect layers, each layer having a plurality of interconnect traces electrically coupled on a first side to the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips and on a second side to the transducer elements, the redistribution interconnect providing an interconnection between the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips with corresponding ones of the acoustic elements of the array,
wherein on the first side the plurality of interconnect traces have a first pitch set in azimuth and elevation directions and on the second side the plurality of interconnects have a second pitch set in azimuth and elevation directions, the first and second pitch are different.
13. An ultrasound transducer comprising:
one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips, each including a plurality of bond pads;
a flat array of acoustic elements or a curved array of acoustic elements; and
a redistribution interconnect having a plurality of interconnect layers, each layer having a plurality of interconnect traces coupled on a first side to the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips and on a second side to the transducer elements, the redistribution interconnect providing an interconnection between the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips with corresponding ones of the acoustic elements of the array, on the first side the plurality of interconnect traces have a first pitch set in azimuth and elevation directions and on the second side the plurality of interconnects have a second pitch set in azimuth and elevation directions, the first and second pitch are different,
wherein the redistribution interconnect is configured to enable electrical coupling of the array of acoustic elements with the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips, the array of acoustic elements having a shape different from a foot-print of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips.
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The present disclosure relates generally to medical ultrasound systems, and more particularly, to redistribution interconnect for flip-chip microbeamformer(s) and a medical ultrasound system.
In medical ultrasound, transducer arrays are generally used for transmission and reception of ultrasonic or acoustic waves during ultrasound diagnostic imaging. Until recently, most transducer arrays comprised a one-dimensional (1D) array of transducer elements, used to interrogate a substantially two-dimensional region of interest. One-dimensional arrays typically comprise up to a few hundred elements linearly arranged along the azimuthal axis of the array. The timing and amplitude of the electrical signals applied to and received from these elements control focusing and steering in the azimuth direction, while focusing in the orthogonal elevation direction is controlled by the elevation height of the array and the characteristics of a mechanical lens.
More recently, transducer arrays have been developed to provide improved image quality and/or new imaging modes through improved control in the elevation direction. This improved control is obtained by sub-dividing the array elements in the elevation direction, at each position in azimuth. For example, improved image quality for two-dimensional regions of interest can be obtained through use of expanding elevation aperture, elevation focusing, and aberration correction; arrays providing these capabilities are commonly referred to as 1.25D, 1.5D, and 1.75D, respectively. In general, elements in these arrays are several times larger in the elevation direction than in the azimuth direction.
Volumetric imaging, i.e. interrogation of a substantially three-dimensional region of interest, is obtained through use of a 2D array, where the height in elevation of each element is roughly the same as or even smaller than its width in azimuth. While there are significant differences between each of these newer types of transducer arrays, they are all differentiated from conventional arrays by physically comprising a two-dimensional array of transducer elements instead of a one-dimensional array of transducer elements. Further as described here, the terms “two-dimensional” and “2D” are used to refer to the physical arrangement of the elements, and do not imply any aspects of the way these elements are controlled to transmit acoustic beams into and receive acoustic signals from the region of interest.
State of the art two-dimensional arrays generally include a flat array having thousands of transducer elements. In one type of two-dimensional ultrasound transducer design, all transducer elements of an array are attached and individually electrically connected to a surface of an integrated circuit (IC) via “flip-chip” technology using conductive bumps. This “microbeamformer” IC provides electrical control of the elements, such as, for beam forming, signal amplifying, etc., and provides the means of interfacing the thousands of array elements to the ultrasound system which has at most hundreds of signal processing channels. The term “flip-chip” is used here to describe electrical interconnection using small conductive bumps, such as solder balls.
One example of a known design of an ultrasound transducer is illustrated in
Flip-chip architecture for microbeamformers offers a number of advantages over other interconnect methods. Unfortunately, the flip-chip architecture alone may not be suitable for all microbeamformer applications. For example, there are applications, such as high-frequency ultrasound transducer arrays, where it may not be possible to fit all of the necessary microbeamformer electronics for an element of the transducer array within the spatial footprint of a single transducer element.
In addition, curved arrays provide a significant challenge to the flip-chip architecture. For example, a curved array does not provide a flat surface to use for flip chip bonding. As a result, using the flip-chip architecture with curved arrays involves significant challenges.
Furthermore, the flip-chip architecture requires that the transducer array and the microbeamformer IC be pitch-matched. As a result, each transducer array must have a unique microbeamformer IC. Accordingly, the requirement of a unique microbeamformer IC undesirably limits re-use opportunities, increases development cost(s), and increases time-to-market.
Still further, chip tiling is a method used to support transducer arrays that are larger than a maximum size of a microbeamformer IC. Chip tiling can permit use of smaller IC chips, with attendant increase in IC fabrication yield and lower cost. However, for increased frequency, the alignment accuracy and tolerance requirements become more stringent.
Accordingly, an improved method and apparatus for a microbeamformer IC with a flip-chip architecture for overcoming the problems in the art is desired.
The embodiments of the present disclosure address the problems noted above by providing a means to decouple the spatial constraints on the microbeamformer integrated circuit chips from the spatial constraints of the transducer array. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an ultrasound transducer includes one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips, an array of acoustic elements, and redistribution interconnect coupled via flip-chip bumps between the one or more integrated circuit chips and the array of acoustic elements. The one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips each include a plurality of bond pads separated from adjacent ones thereof by a first pitch set. The acoustic elements of the array are separated from adjacent ones thereof by a second pitch set, the second pitch set being different from the first pitch set. In addition, the redistribution interconnect couples on a first side to the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips via flip-chip bumps. The redistribution interconnect couples on a second side to the array of transducer elements via flip-chip bumps. The redistribution interconnect provides an interconnection between the bond pads of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips having the first pitch set with corresponding ones of the acoustic elements of the array having the second pitch set.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an ultrasound transducer includes one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips, a curved array of acoustic elements, and redistribution interconnect coupled via flip-chip bumps between the one or more integrated circuit chips and the array of acoustic elements. In this embodiment, the redistribution interconnect provides the geometrical remapping from the curved surface of the transducer array and the flat surface of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips.
In the figures, like reference numerals refer to like elements. In addition, it is to be noted that the figures may not be drawn to scale.
According to one embodiment, an application-specific interconnect redistribution level is introduced into an acoustic stack of an ultrasound transducer array with a microbeamformer IC. The interconnect redistribution level comprises a redistribution interconnect that is pitch-matched in both azimuth and elevation to the transducer array at one surface of the interconnect redistribution block, and pitch-matched to the microbeamformer IC at a second surface of the interconnect redistribution block, wherein the pitches of the transducer elements of the transducer array in azimuth and in elevation are different from the pitches of corresponding electrical contact points or bond pads of the microbeamformer IC in azimuth and in elevation. In other words, the interconnect redistribution level provides different interconnect pitches on the top and bottom (or alternatively, the sides) of the redistribution interconnect block by patterning interconnect traces in the interconnect layers of the interconnect block and/or aligning metal lines of the interconnect layers with the different pitches on the top and bottom of the interconnect block. In addition, the elevation and azimuth pitches may be different on the same surface, wherein for simplicity, the elevation pitch and the azimuth pitch together can be referred to as the pitch set for the particular surface.
In one embodiment, the interconnection redistribution block comprises a multilayer redistribution interconnect block. The block is built using multiple layers of a planar interconnect, wherein the multiple layers have no interconnects between individual ones of the multiple layers. Each layer includes in-plane patterning, the in-plane patterning providing for a given pitch redistribution of a particular combination of transducer array and microbeamformer (or microbeamformers). In addition, each layer of the planar interconnect can be fabricated, for example, using conventional printed circuit board (PCB) and/or flexible circuit board fabrication techniques.
In one embodiment, ultrasound transducer 30 includes a flat array of acoustic elements 34 that are coupled to a surface of a microbeamformer integrated circuit 38 via interconnecting block 32 and flip-chip conductive bumps. In particular, the transducer elements of the flat array of acoustic elements 34 are coupled to a first surface of interconnecting block 32 via flip-chip conductive bumps, for example, as illustrated in the bubble view in
Spacing of the interconnect layers between adjacent ones thereof can be accomplished, for example, by any suitable spacer material (not shown) as may be appropriate, wherein the spacer material is located at least proximate the first and second surfaces (54,56) to provide the appropriate spacing of interconnect traces 52 between adjacent ones of the interconnect layers in an elevation direction at the respective surfaces. For example, the spacer material may comprise an adhesive, or other suitable material, having an appropriate thickness. Appropriate spacing between adjacent ones of the interconnect layers in the elevation direction at the first surface 54 insures proper alignment of interconnect traces at the first surface with corresponding ones of the bond pads of the microbeamformer IC 38. Furthermore, appropriate spacing between adjacent ones of the interconnect layers in the elevation direction at the second surface 56 insures proper alignment of interconnect traces at the second surface with corresponding ones of the transducer elements of the transducer array 34.
In the embodiment illustrated in
Alternatively, with respect to the embodiment of
In the embodiments presented thus far, the pitch of the array elements has been described as being larger than the pitch of the microbeamformer IC circuits to which the array elements connect through the redistribution interconnect. As noted above, there may also be cases where the pitch of the microbeamformer IC is larger than the pitch of the array elements; for example, high-frequency arrays have small elements where the microbeamformer IC electronics required to support the desired circuit functions may be larger than the array elements.
The embodiments of the redistribution interconnect illustrated in
The embodiment of
The embodiment of
The use of flexible circuits in the interconnect block also provides opportunities for forming a redistribution interconnect wherein the two interconnect surfaces are not parallel to each other. Such a redistribution interconnect 90 is illustrated in
With respect to curved arrays, a major challenge in making 2D curved arrays has been in providing an interconnection between the individual elements 35 of the transducer array 104 and the individual wires 52 in the redistribution interconnect 102-1. It is necessary for the transducer array 104 to be sufficiently flexible to conform to the curved surface of the redistribution interconnect 102-1. In one embodiment, a method for accomplishing this is by using a composite material to form the transducer array 104. The composite material is formed using techniques known in prior art, and is sufficiently flexible that the transducer array 104 can conform to the corresponding curved surface of the redistribution interconnect 102-1. Once the transducer array 104 is conformed and bonded to the curved surface of the redistribution interconnect 102-1, the array is diced into individual elements 35.
A common method of building curved one-dimensional arrays is to build a flat array on a substrate or “carrier” made of a material that, when sufficiently thin, is also sufficiently flexible that it can be conformed to the desired radius of curvature. Because of manufacturing tolerances, the dicing cuts that separate the array into individual elements typically also enter the carrier, but it is necessary for some thickness of the carrier to remain to provide mechanical support for the array elements during subsequent processing prior to being permanently bonded into the curved form. Therefore, if the carrier is conductive and homogeneous, electrical connections to individual elements cannot be brought through the carrier, and the carrier must therefore be a common electrode for all elements of the array.
Referring still to
In some cases, the presence of a carrier provides an opportunity to include some additional functionality in the carrier component. For example, a two-dimensional array can be operated in a manner that is symmetrical across the center of the elevation dimension; i.e., at each specific azimuth position, wherein pairs of two elements spaced equally from the center of the elevation direction are connected together electrically. This format, referred to herein as “row pairing”, is typically used in expanding aperture (1.25D) and elevation focus (1.5D) applications. The inclusion of row pairing interconnect in the carrier reduces by a factor of two the number of electrical signals that must be brought off of the transducer array through the redistribution interconnect.
It should be noted that while the flexible carrier is a necessary component of this embodiment of a curved two-dimensional array, a carrier with row pairing element connections may also be advantageously used with a flat array to reduce the number of electrical connections that must be brought off of the array through the redistribution interconnect. In this case, however, flexibility of the carrier is incidental, and the carrier could be made of a non-flexible material.
It should be further noted that, especially for high-frequency arrays, the azimuthal pitch of the elements may be too small to permit row pairing element connections to be included in the carrier. In this case, the row pairing element connections may be made on the surface of the redistribution interconnect opposite the array, where the pitch of the interconnect can be larger and the location of the redistribution interconnect pads need not be the same as the location of the array elements.
It should be further noted that the materials comprising the redistribution interconnect can be designed as part of the acoustic design of the ultrasound transducer. For example, the redistribution interconnect can be designed to have specific attenuation, acoustic velocity, acoustic impedance, etc. that advantageously contribute to the acoustic performance of the transducer array.
According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, many of the advantages of the flip-chip architecture are provided while addressing some of its limitations by introducing an application-specific interconnect redistribution block (or redistribution interconnect) into the acoustic stack. As used herein, the connection to the array of acoustic elements in some of the present embodiments has been described as flip-chip connections, however, the attachment mechanism could also include something different from flip-chip connections. That is, the term “flip-chip” could also refer to electrical interconnection using something other than conductive bumps. The present embodiments also enable potential applications for two-dimensional (2D) arrays with microbeamformer ICs having form factors that permit or are suitable for incorporating the extra size and weight of the redistribution interconnect block. In addition, the array of acoustic elements can have a shape that is different from a foot-print of the one or more microbeamformer integrated circuit chips.
The present embodiments advantageously provide for the mapping of a planar two-dimensional array geometry to a different planar integrated circuit (IC) ASIC geometry. The embodiments further provide for mapping a curved two-dimensional array geometry to a different planar integrated circuit (IC) geometry. In another embodiment, the ASIC resides substantially in the “shadow” of the acoustic transducer, rather than being laterally displaced.
Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.
Sudol, Wojtek, Robinson, Andrew L., Davidsen, Richard
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